An alternative detail suggestion for weak column-strong beam connections in reinforced concrete structures under earthquake effect

In reinforced concrete structures, columns are more weakly constructed than beams due to various reasons such as production of large usage areas. The frame damage occurs in columns because the beams are built together with slabs so that they have more carrying capacity than expected. In projects with limited usage areas, fibrous concretes or high percentage of reinforcements are used in columns and joints in order to increase the column capacity without enlarging the cross-section during production. In these methods, either there is inadequate increament in capacity or brittle collapse in columns take place secondary to excessive usage of reinforcement. In this study, 15 column-beam connection elements were tested under reversed cyclic loads that simulate earthquake loading. In addition to well-known methods for column connections and joints, herein a simple, practical and cheap suggestion is made and as a result of utilization of panels with shear stud, the column capacity is increased. Also in this study criteria for columns and beams such as rigidity, flexibilty, energy consumption and resistance are examined. In nonlinear analysis study, the obtained data are compared with experiment results by using the Ansys 8.0 finite element package program. In the direciton of the findings, suggestions for column-beam joints and details are developed. Key Words :Column-Beam joints, Shear Stud, Ansys, Cyclic Loads